Romance of Leadership

The Theory

Based on a series of studies, the ROL suggests that we overwhelmingly tend to favor leaders and leadership as the causal force behind the activities and outcomes of organizations. In part, a critical response to a prevailing emphasis on the importance of leaders in the leadership process (as opposed to an emphasis on followers or the situation), the ROL theory was developed to call attention to the fact that whatever the “true” impact of leaders and leadership in organizations and societies, leadership as a concept has attained an immenseand perhaps often unwarranted popularity in our understanding of the world. Simply stated, despite centuries of study and decades of formal research, the concept of leadership remains largely elusive and resistant to attempts to unravel its mystique. Yet we continue to believe in its import and efficacy, even in situations in which we have no direct evidence to support this belief.

The ROL was introduced as one of the first explicitly follower-centric approaches in an effort to balance the many leader-centric approaches that dominated leadership research and practice. Meindl pointed out that leadership had attained a seemingly heroic, larger-than-life status and urged us to consider the implications of relaxing the often taken-for-granted assumption that leadership is important in its own right. Particularly in light of the growing appreciation of external factors and the surrounding environment in which organizations operate, he suggested that we need to question and systematically explore the value and significance of leadership in modern organizations.

The ROL approach helps highlight and question the esteem, prestige, charisma, and heroism attached to various forms of leadership. In addition, the vast majority of research and popular business attention has focused on leadership as a positive force on followers and society. As a result, the ROL perspective questions our collective fascination with leadership and our emphasis on heroism, charisma, and the glorification of leadership in the face of any real evidence that a given leader is really worthy of such praise.

Implications of the ROL Approach